much more temperate in eating and drinking than the men, who in general ruin their health and constitutions by excessive indulgence in both these respects.

There are six different kinds of inhabitants in Batavia and its environs, quite separate and distinct from each other :

Ist. The Dutch and Europeans in general, who have all the power, offices and employments in their own hands, and exercise authority over all the rest; and whose perishing numbers are annually recruited from Europe.

2d. The Portuguese descendants of the first occupants of Batavia. They have now lost all commerce and connexion with their mother country, and have only a corrupted dialect of the Portuguese remaining amongst them. Even this, there are many of them who hardly understand; and all more willingly and readily speak the Malay language. They dress like the native Javanese in every respect, except that they wear their hair still after the European fashion. They have adopted almost entirely the manners and customs of the Javanese, from whom they are chiefly to be distinguished by the darker colour of their complexion and skin, by their having longer noses and sharper features of face. They are no longer Roman Catholics, but have all become Lutherans. They are all of them employed in the lowest menial capacities; a few of them are artificers and mechanics, and some of them live entirely by hunting in the woods and forests. They are indeed, the only chasseurs in the place. In short, they have nothing European or Portuguese about them except the name.

3d. The native Javanese. These have a peculiar colour of complexion that easily distinguishes them from all the other Indians and inhabitants of the place. They are neither so swarthy as the Portuguese, nor of so yellow a tinge as the Malays in general. Their features are fuller, their eyes large, their noses broad and flat, and their faces large. They are all free, and it is stipulated by treaty with the Dutch, that they must not be made slaves. Their dress too is different from that of the other Indians. They wear their hair in the manner already described, plaited behind and fixed with a silver bodkin, which is the common fashion here for women of all ranks and conditions. But their

necks, shoulders, arms, and a great part of the breast and back are quite bare. The men indeed, are usually naked from the waist upwards; but the women have a kind of wrapper which just covers the breast, and so passing obliquely downwards and backwards to the ancles; they cover themselves with a piece of the red and blue cotton cloth, folded in form of a petticoat. This dress they consider as a privilege to distinguish them from the slaves, who are never permitted to wear it, even after they are made free. Female slaves, however, are dressed in a much better, and much handsomer manner; and although the form and fashion be uniform with respect to them all, some of them, who are more handsome or greater favourites with their masters than the rest, are clothed in a much finer manner, and adorned with abundance of toys and trinkets. Their dress consists, first, of a white cotton jacket loose at the neck, and with a frill of lace round the opening of the breast. The sleeves are made to fit tight and reach down to the wrist, where they fix them close with a button; round the wrists they wear every kind of toy they can procure. Several of Mr. Wiegerman's had many such of gold and silver, and various coloured stones. This jacket sits close upon the body, and descends below the waist. Round the waist they wear a kind of double petticoat, reaching down the leg almost to the ancle. The petticoat is composed of two pieces of the checker cotton cloth. The one piece is brought from behind forward, and almost meets on the forepart. The other piece resembles an apron, and is put on the contrary way, passing from before backwards, but it is much narrower than the former and does not meet behind. As this kind of double petticoat has no spare cloth, and is drawn very tight round the waist, it shews the figure and shape. The price of slaves varies according to their age and figure but when they are handsome they cost from 400 to 500 dollars.

4th. The slaves. They are very numerous, every one having as many as he chooses, and can afford to buy and keep. There are many more female than male slaves. They are brought here from all parts of India, and it is remarked, that at all times, even in themselves and their descendants, the original character and habits of their country may be distinctly traced. Those from the same places or countries associate with each other in preference to the rest; and, it should seem, they encourage and give examples to each other in keeping up pertinaciously the early habits and impressions of their native land. The dress of the female slaves has been already described. That of the males is more humble and simple. It consists of one long gown, reaching from the neck down to the ancles. It is of the same red and blue striped cloth entirely close, excepting an opening at the top for passing it over the head. It has closer sleeves which are buttoned at the wrist, where they too sometimes wear a few ornaments, and always they have several small yellow buttons at the collar. Each male and female slave has particular departments and particular services to perform, and these only they attend to. Hence the great number of both always employed and thought necessary in warm climates, and particularly in eastern countries; these slaves have each an allowance of a certain quantity of rice, and about the value of one penny sterling, in Dutch money, per day. They dress their rice in their own manner, and with the penny they buy fish, which they mix with their rice for their ordinary diet; if they choose vegetables they are commonly allowed to take as much as they want from their master's garden. Even from this scanty pittance, there are several examples of slaves who have subsisted themselves, and saved at last as much as was necessary for paying letters of liberty, when they have obtained their freedom.

Although the children of slaves are here, as in other countries were slavery reigns, the property of their masters, yet this source seems to afford but a very small number. The master chooses rather to buy than to rear one. Female slaves are reckoned hardly good for any thing after bearing a child, but for nursing and bringing it up. I saw one or two of them so employed at Mr. Wiegerman's. They looked old and worn out, yet I was informed they were young. They seemed to have no task but the care of their child imposed upon them, and I was assured they had nothing else to do. It is looked upon in these circumstances rather to be a loss than an advantage, to encourage matrimonial

connexions between the slaves, and accordingly it is discouraged, and as much as possible prevented; nor does it appear that the males are much disposed to press the matter. They are in general, lazy, languid, and feeble; the low diet on which they feed, and the indolent, unanimated, discouraging life they lead, give but little stimulus to passion. It should seem too their propensities to gallantry are never strong, nor are the exciting objects within their reach peculiarly calculated for calling them forth; unless it be in those cases where their kind mistress has chanced to cast a favouring eye on some happy individual, as the master often does on the female slave that pleases him. The fifth class consists of freed slaves and their descendants, who all continue free in virtue of the liberty of their fathers. The number of these is not very great, but they are manumitted from time to time by their masters, for various reasons: sometimes on account of long and faithful services, sometimes for particular actions meritorious in the eyes of their masters, or particularly acceptable to them; at other times, when their master, having acquired an ample fortune, is about to return to Europe, and hardly thinks it worth his while to sell them again; but most frequently when he is about to die, and then from various motives, chooses to liberate his slave. The slave so manumitted is obliged to have his liberty confirmed by letters-patent from the governor and council of the Indies, and for these letters he must pay a tax of twenty-five dollars. This sum the slave has sometimes accumulated himself from the savings of his daily allowance from his master, and sometimes the master also pays it for him. But it often happens that he neither has it himself, nor does his master choose to pay it for him; in this case the master engages him to serve him for a stipulated time longer, most frequently, I was told, two years; at the end of which period, if the slave has still continued to behave well and please his master, he then confirms his liberty and pays for his letters-patent, ascertaining his manumission. But should he behave amiss, or unfortunately displease his master, he then retracts his promise of liberating him, and keeps him in his former condition of servitude. When masters are cruel, severe, and otherwise maltreat their slaves, they are sometimes in considerable danger from their revenge; and there have been examples of masters having more than once been murdered by them.. But in general they have nothing to fear; and to masters who use them well they are said to shew uncommon fidelity and attachment. After they are thus liberated, the same prin ciple of association with their countrymen prevails in full force. They seek for others in the same condition and from the same countries; they build little hamlets, and join together in the same occupations. Their usual practice is to hire a small spot of ground from the governor and council, or any of the servants of the company who have land to let. They convert these spots into gardens, where they cultivate fruit, flowers and vegetables, and carry them for sale to the market of Batavia, or to the Passai-Tannabank, the general market for such commodities for all the environs of Batavia, and even for all the district back to the Blewenberg mountains. This place is about five miles from the town; it is a small eminence about thirty feet higher than the level of Batavia, but being the only rising ground to be seen as far as the eye can sweep the plain around the town, it has been selected as a distinguished spot for a public market-place. Twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, these freed slaves, and the other country people who live at some miles farther distance from town, bring their fruit, flowers, culinary vegetables, poultry, eggs, &c., to this place. The hucksters, fruiterers, and green-grocers, meet them from Batavia, purchase their commodities wholesale, and carry them to Batavia, where they retail them in the streets and in their stands. I saw one of these markets, and could not help being surprised at the prodigious variety and abundance; but nothing struck me so much as to see large waggon and cart-loads of pine-apples, heaped up as turnips are brought to Covent-Garden. When they are sold here they hardly cost a farthing a-piece. We thought them exceedingly good, although the great abundance seemed to depreciate their value among the inhabitants. Whole fields of them are to be seen growing in the open air around Wiegerman's country-house, and all along the road-side for many miles, back towards the mountains. Even the fruit-sellers, who retail them again, and take their chance of those that spoil in the mean time, (which they readily do in this climate,)sold them to the ships for less than a penny a-piece